"I want it to be fantastic, to be big, to command and express that feeling when you're a kid and reading the comics. I didn't want to hide or shy away from that."

He also addressed fan concerns that the film will suffer from including too many villains, in a similar way to Sam Raimi's Spider-Man 3 in 2007.

"We're obviously familiar with the complaints people had," Webb replied. "We're very careful to make sure the stories intertwine. For Peter Parker, it's very important that you create obstacles that are difficult to overcome."

However, Webb revealed that Giamatti's Rhino only features in the movie "for four minutes".

The Amazing Spider-Man 2 hits UK cinemas on April 18 and is released in the US on May 2.

Next
A - Alfred Pennyworth
Bruce Wayne's butler and closest confidant, Alfred Pennyworth raised Bruce following the murder of his parents Thomas and Martha. Created by Bob Kane, Bill Finger and Jerry Robinson, the character was initially an overweight detective conceived as a comic foil for Batman and his sidekick Robin.

After the release of film serial The Batman in 1943, in which William Austin played the character as a slim-line, moustachioed butler. Austin's image then fed back into the comics and on the page Alfred has largely resembled him ever since.

Alan Napier, Efrem Zimbalist Jr, Ian Abercrombie, Michael Gough and Michael Caine have all portrayed the character in various forms, with the latter two serving as surrogate father figures across a combined seven feature films.

Caine said of playing the character in 2005: "I wanted to bring a very unusual, very tough butler for Batman. I didn't want the usual obsequious bobbing 'dinner is served' type of person. I wanted someone extremely tough so I did a backstory on myself.

"He was an SAS Sergeant, which is a very tough British Army unit, got wounded, didn't want to leave the Army, became in charge of the Sergeant's Mess in the canteen.

"He knew how to serve drinks and prepare stuff, which made him attractive to Bruce Wayne's father because he wanted a very tough butler. And that's how he came around. And I used the voice of the first sergeant I ever had in the Army."

Alfred will have a presence in both the forthcoming Gotham TV show, in which Sean Pertwee will take on the role, and Batman vs Superman with Jeremy Irons in the part.